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I wanted give my thought about the comparing and contrasting all of the Chinatowns of NYC.
I wanted to see what people think of it.
As many may know already, NYC now has now like more than 3 Chinatowns now, however, Manhattan's, Flushing's, and Sunset Park are the three largest.
QUEENS
Anyway, I wanted to start off my saying Flushing's Chinatown is by the largest Chinatown of NYC and holds the crown as the cultural center of Chinese culture due to the large influx of many different Chinese group populations. It is also mostly Mandarin speaking.
I feel this Chinatown is a combination of Taipei, Shanghai, and Beijing all together due to their very developed urbanized culture like these cities including that many Taiwanese, Beijing Chinese and Shanghainese are in this area. However, like Shanghai and Beijing constantly receiving an influx of different Chinese groups from all parts of China, Flushing also has many other regional groups of Chinese people as well. There are Cantonese from Guangdong and Hong Kong in this area as well.
Elmhurst also has a Chinatown and like Flushing, very diverse with different Chinese cultures, only smaller.
The Chinese populations have spread out to many surrounding Queens areas spreading as far east as near Long Island. I have no doubt that with the continuous influx of different Chinese regional groups coming into Queens, half of eastern Queens, probably more will be one giant Chinatown in the next 2-3 decades fore coming.
BROOKLYN Sunset Park Chinatown
As for Brooklyn, the large Chinatown is in 8th Avenue Sunset Park. This Chinatown population pattern is very much like Shenzhen. Because both Brooklyn's Sunset Park Chinatown and Shenzhen were originally Cantonese speaking, but it was not very developed and very small. However, an influx of Mandarin speakers started to arrive and then as a result, they expanded very largely and developed. And then it became overwhelmingly Non-Cantonese Chinese and Mandarin speaking.
The only difference is Shenzhen's Mandarin speaking population come from all part of China while the Mandarin speakers in Brooklyn's Sunset Park Chinatown are mainly Fuzhou immigrants and likely to speak their own dialects along with Mandarin.
Bensonhurst's and Sheepshead Bay's Chinatowns
Many of the Cantonese actually had moved away from Brooklyn's Sunset Park Chinatown and into Bensonhurst and Sheepshead Bay, which attracted a larger influx of more Cantonese people to settle into those areas, and a result, Bensonhurst now has several small emerging Chinatowns in various sections like 18th Avenue, Bay Parkway and 86th Street and Sheepshead Bay has a small Chinatown on Avenue U.
These Chinatowns are mostly Cantonese dominated and is more like Hong Kong and Guangdong Province.
MANHATTAN
As for Manhattan's Chinatown, it is declining due to gentrification. However, this original Chinatown of NYC is more like Guangzhou. They both started off mostly Cantonese speaking and were already very developed and growing.
Then they both received large influx of Mandarin speaking populations, but due to the fact that Manhattan's Chinatown/Guangzhou were already very developed and highly populated with a strong Cantonese culture, there is still large Cantonese speaking population and the Cantonese culture is still very influential despite the large Mandarin speaking populations.
This is unlike Shenzhen/Brooklyn's Sunset Park Chinatown, which did not really have large populations and very underdeveloped.
Once again, the difference is the Mandarin speakers in Guangzhou are from all part of China, while the Mandarin speakers in Manhattan's Chinatown are mostly from Fuzhou and they speak their dialect along Mandarin.
However, due to the gentrification going on, both Cantonese and Fuzhou are declining and relocating to Brooklyn. The overall Chinese population is declining rapidly.
Very soon, Queens and Brooklyn will be the only boroughs with large Chinese populations.
Primary Language Usage
Queens Flushing/Elmhurst - MANDARIN
This is because there are so many different Chinese groups and many already use Mandarin often.
Brooklyn Sunset Park/Bensonhurst/Sheepshead Bay - CANTONESE & MANDARIN
Since the Cantonese populations were the earliest Chinese groups to arrive, they held the Chinese influence for a long long time. Their population is still large, because of their Cantonese pride and because the popularity of Hong Kong entertainment, the Cantonese culture and language is still a very influential and popular and is still part of the list of lingua francas in those areas, but it is just that because of the large Fuzhou influx added into the Brooklyn Chinese communities, Mandarin has been added to the lingua franca list rather than dominating as the main Chinese language usage unlike in Queens.
Manhattan's Chinatown - CANTONESE & MANDARIN
Same as Brooklyn.
Geographical Settlements It is interesting how in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Chinese population is settled mainly by Cantonese and Fuzhou, but in Queens, the Chinese population is so mixed with different Chinese cultures.
When you visit the different Chinatowns in NYC, it is like taking airplane, train and/or bus trips to different regions of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Interestingly, the Cantonese and Fuzhou immigrants are mostly in the southern parts of the NYC area in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, and coincidentally, their regions in China are in the south.
However, in Queens, which is the northern part of NYC, it is mixed with all different Chinese cultures, mainly Mandarin speakers and many coincidentally are from more northern parts of China above the Guangdong/Fujian provinces, like Shanghai, Beijing, Wenzhou, Suzhou, and Taiwan, and etc.
When traveling between the different Chinatowns just within Brooklyn and including Manhattan's Chinatown, it is like taking train trips between Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Taishan, Guangzhou, other parts of Guangdong and Fujian.
Visiting Flushing and Elmhurst is like taking an airplane trip to all parts of China including Shanghai, Beijing and Taiwan.
My Predictions About The NYC Chinatowns With the continuous influx of different Chinese regional groups into Queens, their population has spread so much beyond Flushing and Elmhurst that they are all over Eastern Queens and I believe with no doubt that half of probably most of eastern Queens will be one large Chinatown of NYC in the next 20 years and more to come.
As for Manhattan's Chinatown, it will cease existence with the rapid gentrification going on. Both Cantonese and Fuzhou population, which are the main groups of Manhattan's Chinatown are declining and leaving for Brooklyn. Manhattan is no longer receiving an influx of Chinese immigrants and unlikely in the future to come.
In Brooklyn, the Sunset Park Chinatown is increasingly becoming the only primary center for the Fuzhou people while Bensonhurst's several small emerging Chinatowns and Sheepshead Bay's small emerging Chinatown are increasingly becoming the primary center for Cantonese people. Both the Cantonese and Fuzhous are still increasingly growing in Brooklyn.
However, since other Mandarin speakers highly do not want to settle in Brooklyn, especially they do not want to be around Cantonese speakers, and with Brooklyn's Chinese communities just being mainly Cantonese/Fuzhou, their enclaves can only grow so far and likely to remain pretty much the same with only some significant growth now and then.
What does every else think about these comparisons I made about NYC's different Chinese enclaves.
I got all excited when I saw the title of your post - but then was so disappointed.
I don't give a damn about the backgrounds of the Chinatowns, and I'm not sure why anyone would. I've never heard anyone debate Little Italy's ratios of immigrants from southern vs. northern Italy.
I was expecting that you were going to post about restaurants. What a let-down!
My only acquaintance is with Manhattan's Chinatown. I haven't noticed much gentrification and am not sure who relevant it would be.
I can speak to the Queens/Flushing Chinatown since I graduated from Flushing High and still live in the NE Queens area. One word: Disgusting.
Us Queens natives refer to it as the Asian invasion. It started off in the mid 90s with a few Koreans here and there buying houses in nice areas such as North Flushing and Whitestone. They made for great neighbors. What has happened over the last 10 years, especially under Bloomberg, is mass illegal immigration to Flushing. This has actually chased out 2nd and 3rd generation Koreans (Americans) and whites. Along with this mass illegal immigration from mainland China, has come the formation of all out red light districts in residential areas. Or as they like to call them...massage parlors. Quality of life in these leafy, quiet enclaves has been ruined.
Finally, the 109pct is attacking this issue head on. And, hopefully, once Trump is in office he will reverse sanctuary city status and put an end to this attack on American culture in NE Queens.
I got all excited when I saw the title of your post - but then was so disappointed.
I don't give a damn about the backgrounds of the Chinatowns, and I'm not sure why anyone would. I've never heard anyone debate Little Italy's ratios of immigrants from southern vs. northern Italy.
I was expecting that you were going to post about restaurants. What a let-down!
My only acquaintance is with Manhattan's Chinatown. I haven't noticed much gentrification and am not sure who relevant it would be.
I dont know how you thought this was a post about diff chinese restaurants since he was comparing chinatowns in different parts of NY City....id like to hope chinese people offer more to you than just restaurants....
I actually thought that it was interesting info. Im not chinese and i dont speak chinese so I wouldnt be able to pick up on all these differences.
Of course gentrification in chinatown would happen considering all the neighborhoods surrounding it are gentrified..
I dont know how you thought this was a post about diff chinese restaurants since he was comparing chinatowns in different parts of NY City....id like to hope chinese people offer more to you than just restaurants....
I actually thought that it was interesting info. Im not chinese and i dont speak chinese so I wouldnt be able to pick up on all these differences.
Of course gentrification in chinatown would happen considering all the neighborhoods surrounding it are gentrified..
It isn't really happening, though. People talk about gentrification in Chinatown, but there is literally zero evidence of it taking place. It is true that Chinatown has lost population, but only because new immigrants from China are less poor than 10-20 years ago and thus less willing to cram themselves into tiny subdivided apartments with their families. The non-Chinese population in Chinatown remains very small (much smaller than, e.g., the non-black population in Bed-Stuy or the non-Latino population in Washington Heights).
I always thought Flushing was the best one since it is less crowded with people and tourists. Also it is the biggest one.
Actually, I'm pretty sure that Sunset Park (I don't like calling it Sunset Park's Chinatown as it spans several neighborhoods along 8th Ave, etc., but will for the purposes of this thread) in Brooklyn now has NYC's largest Chinatown. Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/changing-...ticle-1.948028
I think its been that way since around 2010-2011.
I personally shop in Brooklyn's Sunset Park Chinatown and they have some great deals. But you really can't go wrong in Chinatown's in Brooklyn or Queens. Manhattan's Chinatown is so-so. There are still deals to be had there, but its pricier than the others generally, and I've found that the food isn't as fresh there.
Actually, I'm pretty sure that Sunset Park (I don't like calling it Sunset Park's Chinatown as it spans several neighborhoods along 8th Ave, etc., but will for the purposes of this thread) in Brooklyn now has NYC's largest Chinatown. Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/changing-...ticle-1.948028
I think its been that way since around 2010-2011.
I personally shop in Brooklyn's Sunset Park Chinatown and they have some great deals. But you really can't go wrong in Chinatown's in Brooklyn or Queens. Manhattan's Chinatown is so-so. There are still deals to be had there, but its pricier than the others generally, and I've found that the food isn't as fresh there.
Flushing is a larger Chinatown than Sunset Park. Flushing is zip codes 11354 and 11355, which has a larger Chinese population than Sunset Park.
Besides the growing chinatowns in Queens and Brooklyn, I see a lot more Chinese dispersed throughout the rest of the city. There are even decent amounts of Chinese sprinkled throughout Uptown, the Bronx and Staten Island.
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